There is no doubt that starting a business is challenging. Start-up statistics indicate that 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs will fail within 3 years without dedicated, holistic support. This statistic is even more significant for entrepreneurs that don’t come from affluent families and who don’t have a support network available to them.
Our Story
Since 2014, Hatch has piloted a unique approach to enterprise incubation in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark and is now one of the UK’s leading community enterprise charities. We want to support 1000 entrepreneurs by 2020.
After years of working across different sectors in South London, we realised that there was a need for a dedicated enterprise support programme in our local community. This would help fill the gap in support for individuals that are either pushed or pulled into entrepreneurship. Both Lambeth and Southwark face challenges of economic and social deprivation, made worse by austerity and government cuts. Each of the boroughs we work in has wards that are amongst the most deprived across the whole of the UK. The people living in these wards are, however, some of the most talented, high-spirited and entrepreneurial individuals we’ve ever met.
What’s the problem?
Lack of local support
There is a distinct lack of support offered by our local authorities and the few programmes that are available rarely cater to the specific needs of our entrepreneurs.
Isolation – the lone entrepreneur
Speaking to entrepreneurs, we often hear that they ‘have to make it on their own’ as their personal and peer network cannot provide the support they need.
Limited start-up spaces
Free or affordable start-up spaces to get entrepreneurs off the ground are scarce. These spaces should be available to experiment and to ‘fail safely’, yet they do not exist locally.
Lack of start-up finance
The finance options available for entrepreneurs are often loans with terms that make them too risky to take on without having a proven business model.
Lack of business skills
Almost all of our entrepreneurs cited a lack of business skills (such as marketing knowledge, project management skills and financial literacy) as a challenge.
Access to networks
Entrepreneurs starting out often lack access to professional support networks that would enable them to address business challenges successfully.
Our Vision
We help people build businesses out of the things that they love, and the things that they care about most. By supporting local entrepreneurs to do this, we want to create a movement that has a positive impact upon the needs of our local community and beyond.
What do we do?
We provide community driven support to mission driven enterprises of all stages in our local area and beyond via workshops, 1-1 support, mentoring and access to a network of business pioneers and experts. These elements work together to provide entrepreneurs with the focus, training, guidance and expertise needed to start or grow their business or charity.
By helping our community of entrepreneurs to create profitable and sustainable organisations, we can create more impact whilst helping the individuals we work with to embrace the journey ahead (and create healthier and happier communities).
Who we help
For young entrepreneurs…
We often support young entrepreneurs aged 18 – 30 who are living in disadvantaged communities. We understand that the challenges that they face are not just economic. They also have to deal with isolation, fear, and a lack of support. At Hatch we provide a community full of support and guidance for young people to tap into to reach their goals.
For social entrepreneurs…
We also specialize in helping social entrepreneurs and those wanting to set-up a mission driven businesses. Social entrepreneurs face even more challenges than their commercially minded cousins – realising their social or environmental ambitions in addition to developing a sustainable revenue model. At Hatch we provide the knowledge and training needed to help make their social business a reality.
For Female Founders…
We have worked with many women in business over the last few years. Many find it difficult to get their business off the ground as they often face additional challenges
not typically shared by their male counterparts. With our new Female Founders Programme we want to help female entrepreneurs scale their ventures into successful businesses.
How we help
Our programmes
1. Hatch Launchpad
Our early stage, 6-week programme delivering personal coaching, business workshops and a testing ground for early stage business ideas. Our Launchpad is ideal for those seeking a supportive enterprise community to get their business off the ground.
2. Hatch Incubator
An immersive 12-week programme providing workshops, 1-2-1 business coaching, mentoring, and access to work space. It is exclusively for entrepreneurs who have been running their business for some time and want to grow. We offer awards to outstanding entrepreneurs on our Demo Day, which concludes the programme.
3. Hatch Accelerator
An innovative business and leadership programme to scale an existing business or social enterprisedesigned especially for women. The accelerator delivers specialist knowledge through workshops and 1-2-1 coaching and offers dedicated mentoring within a 4-month programme.